Judge Rules In Favor Of Company In Wrongfull Death Suit

[Ringman]

The company I work for was being sued by the family of a shoplifter for wrongful death, the shoplifter died after store security and customers captured the guy for stealing $300 in groceries.

The case went to trial and the Jury awarded the family $1,000,000 but the judge ruled in favor of Giant Eagle meaning the family gets nothing. While I feel for the family in having to deal with the loss of their son I feel the judge is right in his ruling.*
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/15...ntent=ohi_news

*I checked with ree on this as I wasnt shure where to post this as it deals with the company I work for but also contains a news story, and she suggested i just put it here.

[Crosshair]

Sucks that the shoplifter died and all this BS happened. But it is good that the family won't profit from his stupidity. How many boards ago did you post that story?

[South Texan]

Your state must be one that holds that a person who is more than 50% responsible for what happened cannot recover damages for what happened.

The jury found $1,000,000 would compensate for the loss, but since it also found the crook was 60% responsible for his own death, none of that compensation gets awarded. The judge just applied the law based on what the jury decided.

[Ringman]

How many boards ago did you post that story?

just here why?

[Crosshair]

I mean the original story about how the shoplifter died. I could swear that you originaly posted it after it happened several boards ago and said that it was going to court? Mabee I'm wrong.

[Kiwi]

I think its complete and utter bollocks that people can sue for crap like that

its like people who are awarded money after they BREAK INTO YOUR HOME to steal from you and injure themselves....

the worst thing ive ever been told was by a canadian police officer just after I moved here.... "if you ever have to defend yourself in your own home, drag the offender outside and say you were attacked there, that way you wont have to pay his medical costs"... he was dead serious to

what is WRONG with people these days!

[PuckishOne]

Good news!

Actually, frivolous lawsuits don't happen as much as we hear in the media, luckily...check this site out: www.stellaawards.com. Turns out that a number of the "cases" we hear about are either (a) not actual lawsuits but just a story or threat; (b) misrepresentations of actual lawsuits; or (c) real legal actions that never make it to court and are dismissed for suckiness (not the actual legal term, but I like it!)

[Titi]

Actually, frivolous lawsuits don't happen as much as we hear in the media, luckily...check this site out: www.stellaawards.com. Turns out that a number of the "cases" we hear about are either (a) not actual lawsuits but just a story or threat; (b) misrepresentations of actual lawsuits; or (c) real legal actions that never make it to court and are dismissed for suckiness (not the actual legal term, but I like it!)

Hey, the cookie bitch won number 2 as the worst real lawsuit for 2005. Woohoo! (If you do not know the story go to the stella awards link and look at winners of the award.)

[XCashier]

Hey, the cookie bitch won number 2 as the worst real lawsuit for 2005. Woohoo! (If you do not know the story go to the stella awards link and look at winners of the award.)

Oh yes, I remember that story. That went on for about four pages on a previous incarnation of CS, and I've seen it discussed on other forums, as well. Captured the public imagination.

Wanita "Renea" Young of Durango, Colo. Two neighborhood teens baked cookies for their neighbors as an anonymous gesture of good will, but Young got scared when she heard them on her front porch. They apologized, in writing, but Young sued them anyway for causing her distress, demanding $3,000. When she won(!!) $900, she crowed about it in the newspaper and on national TV. Now, she's shocked (shocked!) that everyone in town hates her for her spite, and is afraid she may have to move. But hey: she won.

[Greenday]

Um, I noticed it said that as an alternative, they could have just written down the license plate number. What if the car had been stolen? How the hell are they going to find out who it was then? They held the guy down till the cops got there, and I'm guessing the guy put up a struggle and died in the process. It's not like they sat on his head or anything.

[Ringman]

I mean the original story about how the shoplifter died. I could swear that you originaly posted it after it happened several boards ago and said that it was going to court? Mabee I'm wrong.

hmm its possiable that i might have posted the beginings of this story on a previous board.

[kebable]

The company I work for was being sued by the family of a shoplifter for wrongful death, the shoplifter died after store security and customers captured the guy for stealing $300 in groceries.

The case went to trial and the Jury awarded the family $1,000,000 but the judge ruled in favor of Giant Eagle meaning the family gets nothing. While I feel for the family in having to deal with the loss of their son I feel the judge is right in his ruling.*
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/15...ntent=ohi_news

*I checked with ree on this as I wasnt shure where to post this as it deals with the company I work for but also contains a news story, and she suggested i just put it here.

Damn, this guy's family killed originated from Finland...
'Niskakanen' is a fairly typical finnish surname.

[toolbert]

Actually, frivolous lawsuits don't happen as much as we hear in the media, luckily...check this site out: www.stellaawards.com. Turns out that a number of the "cases" we hear about are either (a) not actual lawsuits but just a story or threat; (b) misrepresentations of actual lawsuits; or (c) real legal actions that never make it to court and are dismissed for suckiness (not the actual legal term, but I like it!)

those are pretty good, this one has to be my favorite:

Christopher Roller of Burnsville, Minn. Roller is mystified by professional magicians, so he sued David Blaine and David Copperfield to demand they reveal their secrets to him -- or else pay him 10 percent of their lifelong earnings, which he figures amounts to $50 million for Copperfield and $2 million for Blaine. The basis for his suit: Roller claims that the magicians defy the laws of physics, and thus must be using "godly powers" -- and since Roller is god (according to him), they're "somehow" stealing that power from him.

[Argabarga]

I remember that cookie lady lawsuit, funny thing was, once it hit the news, donations poured in to pay the kids' legal fees, and the sue happy lady started getting annonymous cookie deliveries by the truckload